'The Fighter' Nominated For 7 Oscars
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (CBS/AP) - The Lowell-based boxing drama "The Fighter" was nominated for seven Academy Awards Tuesday, including best picture.
Most of the movie was filmed in Lowell last year, and no one in that city is surprised "The Fighter" is such a big hit.
The laughter inside "The Owl Diner" was a little more vigorous on Monday, as Dickie Eklund and Micky Ward were really there for breakfast.
WBZ-TV's Bill Shields talked with Micky Ward & Dicky Eklund in Lowell.
Then, the Oscar nominations came out.
"I never in a million years thought there would be a movie about us, about our lives," said Micky Ward, a former professional boxer.
Their lives have been made into a movie called "The Fighter."
Mark Wahlberg plays "Irish" Micky Ward, who won a world boxing title in 2002. Christian Bale portays Dicky Eklund, Ward's half brother, whose addictionss nearly derail the fighter's career.
"Hell and back. I was the walking dead at one point," said Dicky Eklund, Ward's half-brother.
Ward's real life trainer is Lowell Police Sgt. Mickey O'Keefe, who says Ward had a gift.
"And when he hits you...you can't get up," said Sgt. O'Keefe.
While the movie is full of hollywood actors, Wahlberg's trainer is the real guy, Sgt. O'Keefe.
"He did great playing himself," said Ward.
The movie has a happy ending, and so too the real life story of a big Lowell family and a fighter with a big heart.
OTHER OSCAR NOMINEES
Read: The Oscar Nominations List
The British monarchy saga "The King's Speech" led all films with 12 nominations, including best picture and acting honors for Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush.
Other best picture nominees are the psychosexual thriller "Black Swan"; the sci-fi blockbuster "Inception"; the lesbian-family tale "The Kids Are All Right"; the survival story "127 Hours"; the Facebook chronicle "The Social Network"; the animated smash "Toy Story 3"; the Western "True Grit"; and the Ozarks crime thriller "Winter's Bone."
"True Grit" ran second with 10 nominations, including acting honors for Jeff Bridges and Steinfeld.
The favorites in the male-acting categories both were nominated, Golden Globe winners Firth as best actor for "The King's Speech" and Christian Bale as supporting actor for "The Fighter."
The best-actress field shapes up as a two-woman race between Annette Bening for "The Kids Are All Right," who won the Globe for actress in a musical or comedy, and Natalie Portman for "Black Swan," who received the Globe for dramatic actress.
The supporting-actress Oscar could prove the most competitive among acting prizes. Melissa Leo won the Globe for "The Fighter," but she faces strong challenges from that film's co-star Amy Adams and 14-year-old newcomer Steinfeld, who missed out on a Globe nomination for "True Grit" but made the cut for supporting actress at the Oscars.
The Oscars will be awarded Sunday, Feb. 27.
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